Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
As more details have been revealed about the PlayStation 5 and Xbox One Series X, this upcoming console generation is looking increasingly beefy to the point of looking like gaming PCs disguised as consoles. As such, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that the costs of creating these consoles and their price points have been a constant cause of concern. According to recent reports, it may be even more constraining for Sony. Reportedly, the PS5’s production will be limited in its first year of launch due to that high price point and costs of design and manufacturing.
Sony’s mood on PlayStation 5 limitations during its launch period appeared in a Bloomberg article on April 15, 2020. According to Bloomberg, various employees at Sony had spoken to the fact that the PS5’s cost is quite high due to the many innovations PlayStation and Xbox are including in their consoles for this upcoming generation. Such as the case, Sony will reportedly limit manufacturing of PS5 consoles to around “five to six million units by March 2021."
It should come as no surprise that COVID-19 is also a factor in Sony’s manufacturing plans. Employees made mention that the pandemic may delay production at some point or another. They wouldn’t be the first to be affected as both Apple’s iPhones and the Nintendo Switch saw delays in manufacturing due to factory shutdowns in China. Though certain parts of China are recovering from the widespread epidemic, Japan Prime Minister Abe Shinzo also just declared a state of emergency across the nation which resulted in the shutdown of Japanese video game ratings board CERO until May 2020.
Though Sony has expressed that it has no desire to delay the launch of its console in the Holiday 2020 season, compliance with various COVID-19 response may force Sony’s hand and delay the console regardless depending on how things go in the immediate future.
Stay tuned to Shacknews for further information about delays or reveals on the PS5 as we await new details. Want to see some of the innovations revealed so far? Be sure to check out our previous PlayStation 5 coverage, including the reveal of the PS5 controller, its Tempest 3D audio system, and more.